Holiday Cheer
by grieverwings
Summary: It's Yuffie's birthday, and Vincent has lately been somewhat overwhelmed with a giftgiving spirit. Problem is... Vincent has no idea what Yuffie likes. K for Barret. 'Nuff said. Yuffentine fluff abound!


_LOL this is probably the most ridiculous thing I've ever written. Excluding the Aurikku thing, of course, but… eh. Now I have a story up for each of my three favorite whacked-out pairings. Well, then again, this pairing isn't exactly whacked-out anymore since Dirge of Cerberus SO made it canon. It was like… OMG cute. Anyway, I hope everybody enjoys – I started it a very long time ago for Yuffie's birthday and just finished it about a month ago. Surprisingly I think I did a good job with it… even though I hate Shelke, so I changed her to make her bearable. Otherwise I would've "accidentally" had her killed off by a runaway chocobo. My mistake. Enjoy!_

Leaning against the back of the padded booth Tifa had recently installed, Vincent stared out the window of Seventh Heaven with a thoughtful expression. The streets were beginning to bustle again, people moving from all over the Planet to live in the once deserted city. After the whole Omega incident… well… the world had been rid of quite a few people. It still angered Vincent, even if it happened two or three months ago, to think that Hojo, Weiss, and the Tsviets had the gall to kill all those innocent people just to push a gigantic monster into awakening. Still, today, the streets were especially busy since people were beginning to get into the holiday spirit. It was late November, the eighteenth to be precise, and already residents were getting the jump on shopping for presents for their loved ones on the day everyone sat around and expressed tidings of goodwill and contentment. The past three years, the original Meteor team had celebrated two of these joyous holidays, one that was somewhat less joyous than usual, and the other Vincent hadn't attended. This year, he resolved it would be different. He'd be happy – or, at least, pretend to be happy – if it killed him.

Shelke was, strangely enough, excited about the upcoming holiday since she hadn't celebrated a single thing for all those years since she became a Tsviet. Already she'd been planning what she was going to buy for everyone with the scraps of gil she'd earned from various odd jobs around the city. Vincent had been extremely amused to walk in on her writing a list of such things, which she covered with one arm as she shouted indignantly for privacy. It was heartening to see her attempting to rebuild her life again. Denzel and Marlene were the same way, giggling childishly while they sat under the table and doodled pictures of assorted gifts and things of the like. Even stranger, though was that Vincent was somewhat apprehensive himself.

Vincent had no idea why, mind you. Maybe it was the thought that everyone was getting back together again for the first time in a month. Since he had… left the cavern, he'd found himself depending more and more on the company of others. He told himself he was going soft, but eventually he discarded the idea. Despite how many times he told himself it was ridiculous, he rather liked this feeling of community. Anyway, if it wasn't the prospect of a gathering (they never said reunion if they could help it), it couldn't have been the mental image of Tifa dragging him through stores, squealing over clothes and such things and expecting his honest opinion on whether or not he liked one thing or another. It wasn't the prospect of holding a ladder steady while Cid drooped garlands and yuletide decorations over fireplaces and on hooks hanging from the ceiling and fouled up the room with a stench of smoke. And it certainly was impossible that it was being clapped roughly on the shoulder by Barret and called 'vampire' for the thousandth time. No, Vincent thought, it had to be something else.

"Tifa!" The door to the bar came crashing open, making Vincent jump and instantly reach for his gun. A split second later, he relaxed. He recognized that voice… everyone did. "Tifa, I can't get this to work!" Yuffie hollered, smashing a scrap of paper on the counter. Smiling a little, Tifa moved over to where Yuffie was impatiently tapping her foot, blowing a clump of jet-black hair out of her eyes. Vincent couldn't help but smile briefly as well, grateful that the somewhat high collar of his cloak hid it. Turning back to the window, he pulled down the collar a little and took a small sip from the warm mug encased in his human hand, going straight back to pondering his anticipation for the holiday season.

Then, all of a sudden, it hit him. In two days, it would be Yuffie's birthday. How old would she be? Nineteen? Or twenty? He could never remember. Vincent had a hard enough time keeping track of his own age without having to worry about other people. Maybe that explained his anxiety. Thinking of gift giving and holiday ceremonies like that had sub-consciously reminded him of the event. Of course… it made sense now. Feeling like his troubles had been resolved for now, he relaxed and paid a little more attention to the exchange between Tifa and the soon-to-be birthday girl.

"I'm not kidding! Every time I try it the whole thing blows up in my face! It's driving me crazy!" Yuffie shrieked, jabbing at the piece of paper with one hand. Tifa laughed.

"Yuffie, did you follow all the directions?"

"Yes."

"You made sure you had all the right ingredients?"

"Yeah."

"…Are you sure you're not just bad at it?"

"Ye- no- Tifa!" Yuffie shrieked childishly, pouting. "I'm being serious here! If I'm going to get this right by the time Barret, Nanaki, and Old-Man Cid get here then I have to start learning it now! Can't you just please show me how it's done?" Vincent's curiosity was beginning to stir. What on the Planet could the girl be talking about? Tifa laughed again, nodding.

"All right, hop over and I'll start up the oven," she smiled. Taken aback, Vincent couldn't help but make a startled noise and a face. Yuffie was… trying to cook something. Had the true apocalypse finally shown up? Yuffie looked equally taken aback, until she turned and located where the noise had come from. Turning a slight red, she jabbed her finger in his direction and made her best grumpy face, though she was obviously glad to see him.

"If you say anything I'll kick your metal-clad butt." Chuckling, Vincent waved a hand and turned back to the window to show he had no quarrel with the girl… woman. "I knew you didn't dare mess with this white rose!" she grinned, literally hopping over the back and standing at the older woman's side. He snorted. Staring into the dregs of his mug, he took a last swig of the package-made hot chocolate (one of Marlene's specialties) and set the cup down with a small plink. It was probably about time that he headed back to his small apartment down the street. But, even though his mind told his feet to move, they stayed rooted and his head seemed to automatically turn to the two friends loitering in front of the small kitchen. Tifa was seemingly explaining something, and Yuffie had a cock to her head that showed she was listening intently. If one studied her long enough, they would notice that if she turned her head slightly to the right she was listening, and if she had it turned to the left she was more than likely looking at something over your shoulder. Chuckling a little, he tried to turn away from the sight but… he couldn't.

His red eyes roved over the ninja, taking in all the changes that had happened over the years. She had definitely matured from the goofy, gangly teenager obsessed with materia to a strong and proud young woman… though not much had changed. Her clumsiness, for one thing. Her inability to stay still or be quiet for more than a few minutes. These were, to the others (especially Cid, who claimed that if Shera ever became pregnant he would stoop so low as to even pray to Sephiroth in the Lifestream that their child didn't end up like Yuffie), character flaws but Vincent found them endearing. Endearing…? Where had that come from? The sound of china hitting the wooden table alerted him to the small girl sitting in front of him, also holding a mug though hers was full. Shelke smiled, swinging her legs a little as she drank from the cup and set it down again.

"Most of the others are already here, you know," she said in her usual somewhat-monotone voice. Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell Yuffie, though. It is supposed to be a surprise. I overheard Cloud speaking with Tifa about it yesterday."

"Sneaky," Vincent said with a small smile. Shelke cast a small glance over at Yuffie, now mixing a few things together with such fervor that bits were flying everywhere.

"She is learning to bake brownies, for the celebration," Shelke stated mildly. "So far she isn't doing so well."

"I had noticed," he replied as brownie mix flew and smacked Tifa square in the forehead. Refusing to beat around the bush any longer, Shelke took another drink and leaned forward.

"Will you be getting her anything? I think she would especially appreciate a gift from you." Pursing his lips in thought, Vincent drummed his claw on the seat mildly while he pondered this enigmatic statement. Vincent, Shelke knew, would rather sit there thinking than answer anyone. So she decided to push him a little more. "It isn't like you are committing yourself to her or anything. Just a gift to commemorate another year of age."

"Yeah… I know…" Vincent muttered. Why not? Why shouldn't he? After all, she would more than likely do the same for him. He could go out right now, to the nearest store, and buy something simple for her as a physical manifestation of their friendship. But… "Shelke, I haven't got a clue what girls… women… people her age find appropriate in a gift," he said rather pathetically. Shelke almost forgot herself and smirked.

"Which is precisely why you're meeting Tifa and Marlene at the Nox Emporium in a half hour." Vincent couldn't hold back a smile.

"Sneaky and manipulative. I appreciate it." Looking calm and composed, Shelke drained the last of her mug and ran one finger along the rim thoughtfully.

"I thought you would."

_-.-.-.-.-_

This was getting ridiculous. Vincent had been labeled honorary coat rack, holding several outfits with his claw arm that Tifa intended to buy for Yuffie and give to her from all of them. Vincent felt this was fair. After all, if he was supposed to lug the garments around until kingdom come then he should at least get his name on the card. Despite the shop being rather large and expansive with merchandise, he still hadn't found a single thing to give to Yuffie that she would find either useful in some way or… well, anything, really. By now he was getting desperate to find something. He couldn't have waited until after the gift-giving season to start becoming attached to people.

"Oh, look, Marlene, isn't this sweet?" Tifa chimed, plucking an ornament adorned with small kunai knives and shuriken off the shelf to show to the little girl. "Yuffie would love it!" And with that, she set it in the basket draped around her arm. Vincent would have been ready to swear that she and Cloud had more gil than most people could have hoped to have in their life, or this shopping trip was bound to impoverish them. Glancing at the other shelves, Vincent caught sight of something that held his attention. Taking his brief leave from the two females, he slowly made his way to the shelf and stared bemusedly at its contents.

While the fact that he detested how early stores began commercializing next month's special event (even when they'd been busy attempting to make Vincent celebrate his own birthday stores began putting up displays) he couldn't have been more grateful to whoever ran the fraud in that very instant. The shelf was full of snow globes, miniature and large, all sizes and sorts. One of them was, in the simplest words, flawless. Beautiful, even. Whoever made it had a real sense of artistry. He picked it up gently, examining every detail until he had it memorized from top to bottom. Something told him, even if he wasn't sure, something told him that Yuffie would adore it. Setting it down again, he took one of the shirts and wrapped the fragile decoration within before heading to the front of the store.

"Goodness, Vincent, what made you dash off like that?" Tifa asked, hand that wasn't grasping Marlene's on hip.

"Did you find something for Yuffie, Uncle Vincent?" Vincent winced at the nickname, but let it slide. Marlene was too young and too sweet to yell at anyway.

"I think I did. Tifa… I'll pay for these. Go on back to the bar." She raised an eyebrow, but took up her basket and with a final smile at the clerk bustled straight out the door. The sales clerk turned to Vincent instead, smiling brightly behind a curtain of hair covering the left half of her face. Looking rather embarrassed, he set the clothes on the counter and, extremely carefully, set the still-covered snow globe on the table. She raised an eyebrow, making note of the other items and stuffing them in various bags before gently pulling the last item to her. Vincent hoped no one else was watching. Slender fingers pulled cotton fabric from around the dome before finally revealing the gift in all its splendor. She couldn't help but smile.

"This is exquisitely made. I remember putting it on the shelf the day I got it. I was wondering who was going to buy it," she said, ringing up the shirt and then pulling out a piece of pure white cloth. "Free of charge. Call it a holiday spirit-induced gift." She wrapped the snow globe in the cloth and twisted it inside a bag, holding it out to him with the grin still on her face. "I hope it makes her really happy." Nodding, Vincent took the bag and put it in a pocket cleverly hidden in the upper part of his cloak. Looking perky again, she waved pleasantly and took the gil he slid across the table without even bothering to count it. "Have a great day!"

"…Thank you," he said quietly. Picking up the bags, he quickly made his way from the store, leaving her to smile after him and turn to the next customer.

Racing out into the open air, Vincent only slowed when he was a good block from the store. He absolutely had to make sure no one ever caught word of this… it was embarrassing and bound to damage his hard-earned reputation of being too cold to care. Therefore, before he went back to where he knew Tifa and – probably – Yuffie were waiting for him, he stopped by his small house to leave the gift. Throwing open the door and stepping inside, he inhaled the light smell of gunpowder and set the still-wrapped sphere on a table near the door, heading straight back out again. No one ever need know…

_-.-.-.-_

Pacing back and forth in her small room, Yuffie eyed the mirror and silently inspected herself. Pajama-clad and looking somewhat tired, she brutally analyzed everything she saw. Too scrawny, too short, too long, too… too everything. She still looked generally the same as she did three years ago. That infuriated her. "Come on," she grouched to her reflection. "Do a little filling out for once, won't you?" The image in her mirror didn't change, which told her that obviously wasn't working. Simply infuriating.

In the early morning on the day before her twentieth birthday, Yuffie was stuck in her birthday blues. Nothing, absolutely _nothing_ had changed. Her appearance, her attitude, her resolve to keep quiet… no, that one was relatively new. The vow of silence she'd taken started several months before, near the beginning of the… incident. Her vow to maintain the hidden yet rapidly spreading disease flowing through her heart. It was her own fault, really; she had allowed it to manifest in the depths for three years… it was going to eventually spring to life on its own. Even so, she couldn't help but partially blame Vincent as well. He was the center of the problem in the first place.

Yes, ever since they'd met, Yuffie had found the man attractive; who didn't? She'd heard the giggles when the team had rolled through town after town, the furtive glances cast in his direction, the love-struck sighs. It was in the way his red, red eyes would look about with a stoic calm, and become alight with fury the next moment. The danger of being around him, the feeling when you watched him transform into one of the great beasts that possessed his body, and yet – once you got to know him – the kindness that rested just under the surface if you scratched at it enough. And, even if it was silly, she liked it. She liked him. "No, no, no!" she shrieked, clutching her ears in despair. "Stop it!"

All of a sudden, she heard something tapping lightly on her door, and she shuffled over to open it. To her surprise, Shelke stepped past her without so much as a hello, sitting on one of the beds with a small smile. "Good morning, Yuffie Kisaragi," she said monotonously.

"Hey, Shelke," she replied, sliding the door shut. "What's going on?"

"You're leaving for Wutai tomorrow, aren't you?" Blanching slightly, Yuffie sat next to Shelke and sighed somewhat depressingly. "I thought so. Why?"

"My old man wants me back for my birthday," she moaned, looking as though she detested the whole arrangement – which she did. "Since I'm twenty, I'm official ruling age, but not until he's croaked. So, there's all these papers and stuff I have to figure out, and basically just a load of chocobo crap." Nodding, Shelke rocked back and forth a little bit, apparently figuring out what to say next. "How did you know?"

"Your suitcase and the fact that you were so eager to learn how to bake. You will be back for the ceremonies, right?"

"Of course!" she said proudly, standing upright. "I wouldn't miss it for the world, if I have to smuggle myself out of Wutai!"

"Well," Shelke said quietly, standing up again and smiling a little bit, "As soon as you're ready, come over to Seventh Heaven and talk. The others need a word with you." Before Yuffie could even say anything, Shelke laughed a little and moved to the door. "I didn't tell them."

"Thanks a lot, Shelke!" Yuffie waved happily at the closing door before turning to where she had flung her every-day garb and picking up the clothes. At least she'd get to see her friends before she left… right?

_-.-.-.-_

"Everyone have their presents for Yuffie?" Tifa asked commandingly, standing upright and looking around them with eyes narrowed. As soon as Yuffie walked through the door, she'd be overcome with birthday wishes and parcels dumped in her lap. Vincent wasn't so sure that she wouldn't be buried alive under them. His own present was tucked carefully in a fold of his cloak, so that he wouldn't have to deal with anyone's prodding questions until she showed up. All together, he still felt rather ridiculous, but he couldn't give it back now.

"Hold yer chocobos, Tifa," Cid complained grumpily, holding a large package in his lap and taking a draft of his cigarette. "The brat won't be here for a few more minutes."

"She's no brat anymore," Cloud dully observed. "Or am I the only one who's noticed." Laughing, Cid waved a hand and snuffed the horrible smelling stick out in an ashtray.

"Force of habit, Spiky." 'Spiky' snorted loudly, leaning back a bit and patting Denzel's shoulder lazily. "But you're right, o'course. You always were, eh?"

"Did you get anything for Yuffie, Marlene?" Barret asked, ruffling his daughter's hair.

"Yep, Papa! It's in Tifa's bag!" she squealed. "Uncle Vincent got something too, but he won't show it to me." Wincing, Vincent opened his eyes to see everyone, yes, everyone, staring right at him. "…Right, Uncle Vincent?"

"Well, Uncle Vincent?" Cid snickered, looking expectantly at the stoic man sitting next to him on the couch. "Show us what you got."

"Vincent?" Tifa asked, a smile playing about her lips. Refusing to acknowledge their existences, he crossed his arms and legs and kept his lips sealed tight shut.

"Come on, vampire!" Barret shouted. He never said anything normally if he could help it… unless he was talking to Marlene. "Give us a look, eh?" All of a sudden, unknowingly rescuing Vincent, Shelke stepped in and grinned a little bit.

"She's coming in a minute or so. Everyone ready?"

Vincent couldn't have been more grateful if she'd given him a kidney. Making sure he tried to do this surreptitiously, he reached under his cloak and set the present beside his hip, hiding it partially but making it an easy-access item. Looking at him in slight disbelief, Cloud folded his arms and cast a quick side-glance at the door. "Did you really get her something?" he asked, obviously expecting Vincent to say no. He didn't reply. He was already embarrassed enough as it was, considering he didn't quite know why he was giving her anything in the first place. Perhaps he supposed he owed it to her, for helping him out a few months ago with the Weiss/Hojo thing. Perhaps he simply was just starting to care enough about everyone to see them happy, hidden and repressed though it had been for a very long time.

"It's too bad that Reeve couldn't make it," Tifa mused, this time knowingly saving Vincent from a particularly unpleasant conversation. "He sent a gift for Yuffie, though, and a card that said he'd be here in time for the holidays." Vincent quietly mused how ridiculous this statement sounded. He remembered, the year before, that during one of Tifa's "fun" excursions to the stores for shopping sprees one song in particular played about five times every half hour. He had detested himself after he was caught humming it later.

"Red couldn't be here either," Barret said, making a face. "You'd think everybody's skivvin' out on us."

"Red XIII promised he'd be here next week, he just had some last-minute business to take care of," Tifa said quickly. Cid chuckled.

"Yeah, you'd think, consid'rin' he's runnin' Cosmo Canyon all by himself."

"You're supposed to be running Rocket Town," Cloud pointed out with something of a smile. "Yet you don't ever seem to have anything to do."

"Shuddup, Spiky," Cid grouched, smiling as he said it. Peering out the window, Shelke bounced up and down briefly - quite un-Shelke of her - and grinned back at them.

"She's coming!"

"Everybody hide!" Marlene yelled, diving behind the couch herself. Shelke hid behind a curtain, making Vincent raise an eyebrow, and in the spirit of the game Tifa held a pillow in front of her face. The rest of them sat there.

"Oh, really, you're no fun," Tifa muttered, loud enough for them to hear.

"Says the master of disguise," Cid growled, rolling his eyes. However, even he fell silent when they could hear her footsteps just beyond the door. They halted for a few moments as everyone stared in suspended animation. There was no more sound, no more movement – everyone was perfectly still.

"…Maybe it was just a neighbor," Cloud began, but through the middle of his sentence came an almighty BOOM!

"Tifa--!" Yuffie screamed, having kicked the door open. "Shelke said I need to talk to – why are you hiding behind a pillow?"

"Surprise!" Marlene screeched, practically throwing herself at the ninja. Yuffie let the little girl tackle her knees and nearly knock her to the floor, furrowing her brows. "Happy-almost-Birthday!"

"…Surprise?" Tifa said weakly, setting the pillow down and running a hand through her hair. Her face was slightly red, but her good-natured smile was still there – it always was. Indeed, Yuffie looked surprised and bewildered, but perhaps it was the lack of circulation from Marlene squishing the life out of her skinny legs. "We knew you were leaving tomorrow… and no, Shelke didn't tell us."

"I was gonna say," Yuffie laughed, grinning at Shelke's lumpy figure from behind the curtain. Apparently she didn't get the concept of leaping out of hiding after someone yelled 'surprise'.

"Since you weren't going to be here for your birthday, we decided to celebrate it today," Cloud explained, blue eyes glinting with the hint of a grin.

"So sit your skinny ass down and appreciate the presents," Cid pretend-grouched, waving his cardboard box in the air. The room rang with peals of Yuffie's musical laughter, shaking Marlene off her and pondering where the best place to sit might be. Catching sight of Vincent, who was clearly avoiding eye contact with everyone else in the room, she beamed and flounced to his side. Without asking, she flung herself onto the couch next to him. Vincent made a face, putting a hand protectively to his hip so that she wouldn't crush her gift.

"Hey, Vince!"

"…Hello, Yuffie," he said back, sparing her a miniscule smile. He could almost feel her arm against his, she was sitting so close, and it made him dreadfully uncomfortable. Which, if he thought about it, was completely mind-boggling and idiotic. He'd been living for fifty years, give or take a decade (he couldn't keep track), and yet he still reacted like he was a teenager again. As a matter of fact… he hadn't felt so strange since the first few days he spent with Lucrecia.

…What in the Planet's name was he saying? Vincent had fought the greatest evil ever to plague their world, the _second_-greatest evil ever to plague their world, and the greasiest scientist ever to pollute the world with his idiocy. And yet, here he sat, mentally cursing himself for being so stupid as to be affected by Yuffie. After all, Yuffie was Yuffie. She was a clumsy kleptomaniac who had annoyed and charmed her friends all at once… villains didn't take her seriously. But then, why did it feel as though Vincent's heart was beating faster?

"This is from me, Cloud, Marlene, and Denzel," Tifa said, putting a large shopping bag in Yuffie's lap. "Vincent helped pick things out."

"I'm almost terrified to look," Yuffie joked. Eagerly she began ripping through the bag, a t-shirt landing atop Vincent's head as she flung clothing around. Giggling, she pulled it back away and examined it, squealing her delight. To the others, the bag seemed endless and Yuffie began to throw more dangerous things, such as small ornaments and the like, but Vincent simply contented himself with watching her.

Finally, it seemed as though either ideas or Tifa's money had run out, because the bag lay empty on the floor. Cid and Barret heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank you guys!" she said excitedly, a new pair of earrings shaped like shuriken glittering in her ears. Cloud smiled and nodded, tossing her another gift. This was simply wrapped in thin colored paper, but it was also gone in a flash as she dug in with the exuberance of a child at Christmas. The thief would never change.

"Oh, Cloud, thank you!" she shrieked, hugging the little plush bear to her chest. Vincent was slightly surprised that she would like something like that, but he laughed aloud upon closer inspection. A while ago, as the 'heroes' were such a popular subject, a company had started a line involving them. One of the particular items was a series of stuffed animals that had one of their appearances. This bear looked distinctly like Yuffie from those years ago, big dopey smile and shuriken in all. The others looked slightly disturbed that Vincent had deigned to laugh aloud, but Yuffie laughed back. "It's so cute. I love it!"

"Happy birthday," Cid grinned, chewing on an unlit cigarette. Passing it along, his present was dropped into her lap as well. Once more, Yuffie's apparent ritual of leaving as much debris as possible occurred and she had a boxed set of brand new materia in her hands. Letting out an unintelligible shriek, the thief leapt up from her seat to give Cid a rib-crushing. He chuckled, patting her back and speaking through his teeth. "Don't kill yourself."

As the merry present-unwrapping/wrapping paper-killing spree progressed, Vincent steadily became more and more nervous… for some reason. He felt his fingers itch to go for the snow globe, perhaps to sit on it and pretend it never existed in the first place. For the others, it seemed perfectly natural to give Yuffie gifts and accept her excited hugs, or to outwardly say that they knew she would love it. For Vincent, it would more than likely be the most awkward things that had ever happened, excluding the time when Yuffie slapped Shelke and stormed from the room. He didn't figure that anything at all could top that moment.

Maybe he could just make an excuse to leave and give her the gift quickly. He wouldn't have to see her expression, be it disgust or… anything else, and he wouldn't have to deal with snide comments – more than likely from Cid. Still, he knew he couldn't'. He owed Yuffie, for being a loyal friend, the official 'Vincent-professional', and for many other things. She had even gone so far to save his life… and even though he had returned the favor not long after, it still didn't _feel_ like he did. This ridiculous compelling need to show his friends that he truly did care was overpowering. He would look like an idiot doing it… but it felt like the right thing to do.

Maybe, after all these years, the guilt was fading and his heart was mending. Perhaps someday he would return to the same way he'd been those years ago. He would be able to laugh out loud without the strange feelings, be able to spend time with his friends and not regret the days past. He would go on picnics, with another person or on his own, and simply revel in nature's beauty – something he hadn't focused on in a long time.

Hurtling back to the Planet, Vincent started and realized that his iron-clad feet were covered in bits of paper. Taking this as a hint that Yuffie was almost done and the moment of truth was nigh, he smiled serenely as he watched the thief gleefully squeal over the gift Reeve had sent her: a picture of all of them together. And all of meant every last one. The picture hadn't been taken long ago, and included Shelke, Shera, and – believe it or not – Shinra and his lackeys themselves. Rufus was, as Vincent had expected, the W.R.O.'s benefactor. He had supplied the organization with millions of gil, maybe even more, because as Reeve so simply put it, he had a debt he owed to the Planet. Rufus wasn't exactly a welcome member of their not-so-little band of misfits, but Reno managed to worm his way into any situation, invited or not. He and the rest of the Turks never left their president's side.

"Uncle Vincent," Marlene said, tugging on his pant leg. Blinking, Vincent looked down at her. Here it went – he was in trouble now. "Where's your present for Yuffie? Aren't you going to give it to her?" The expression on Yuffie's face made it clear that she hadn't expected Vincent to give her anything at all. Everyone's eyes were trained on the man, making him sigh. There was no escaping this situation. It was now or never, do or die… to be frank, at the moment he figured he'd rather die.

"Yes, Marlene… I have it right here." Looking down at Yuffie, towering over her even though they were both sitting, her eyes focused on his made him extremely uncomfortable again. If only she'd sat across the room… that would've made this a lot less embarrassing. "…I didn't wrap it. You don't mind, do you?" he said quietly, unsure of himself. This was ridiculous… he wasn't going to be able to do this. His hand refused to move.

"…No," Yuffie said, feeling equally as uncomfortable. He was so close to her… he hadn't been this close in a long time. Or, perhaps, it wasn't that long… it had been during the incident with Nero. Yes, that was right… imprisoned in the eternal darkness, she was ready to burst, screaming with pain, when a single bright, pure light enveloped her… saved her. That light was her savior… her savior was Vincent. He'd carried her out… set her on the ground. Thinking about the feeling of knowing she was safe, and in his arms nonetheless, a shiver crawled its way down her spine.

Finally, his arm decided to move, and he reached beneath his cloak to grip the small ornament. Now that he had seen her other presents, it seemed the most insignificant thing, but he couldn't take it back now. Enclosed in his hand, holding it so that she couldn't see anything but the base, he set it in her own hand and held it there. They continued to stare at each other, Yuffie's eyes wide and Vincent steeling himself to let go.

His fingers were barely grazing the heel of her hand, surprising her. This was a strange way for Vincent to be acting… a very strange way. Surprising her, he pulled his hand away quickly and stood. "…Forgive me." Looking at Cloud, he managed a small smile, though Cloud probably couldn't see it. "My cell phone is ringing."

"Of course it is," Cloud replied, fixing Vincent with a stare that he couldn't comprehend. Not looking at the gift, Yuffie watched as he strolled to the front door and made his way out. They all stared at the door, unsure of what to say or how to comment. Finally, Cid took out the worthless cigarette and tossed it expertly into an ashtray.

"Well, if that wasn't weird. Trust Vincent to be a killjoy."

"I wonder what's wrong." Tifa asked, still staring at the door. "It isn't like him to do that… he normally just goes off without a word. This time, he made up something about his cell phone ringing." Cloud rolled his shoulders in a shrug.

"It's an inside joke, I suppose. Well, Yuffie, I didn't get splattered in batter just for you to not eat Marlene, Denzel, and Tifa's cake that they made for you. Come on."

"But…" Yuffie began, hands closed around her gift.

"He'll be back, kid," Barret said, smiling at her. "Don't get worked up over nothing." Standing, he followed the others into the kitchen, leaving Yuffie still on the couch. Removing her fingers, she looked down at Vincent's gift out of curiosity, wondering what might cause him to flee like that. If he was the joking type, she would have expected a cockroach or something of the like inside it, but… it was just the contrary.

His gift had been a snow globe, though it wasn't like any that she had seen before. It was decent in size, perhaps smaller than many would have expected, but that did nothing to diminish its overall glamour. Inside the sphere, ironically enough, it seemed to be a snowfield. Above the field lay a night sky, twinkling brightly with shimmers that seemed to represent stars. A lone figure, almost so small that it couldn't be seen, stood in the field, arms outstretched as if to embrace a loved one in greeting. Experimentally, she gave it a little shake. It took her breath away.

As if by magic, as the 'snow' whirled like pulled by a strong wind, the stars twinkled out and along the side appeared a bright yellow half-circle… the sun. It shone on the snow-laden field, casting its light on the figure in the center. Purples and pinks and dark blues, the color of a sunrise, stretched along it all and created the piece de resistance: the sun cast the figurine's shadow, making it larger than it could ever have been on its own. Once the 'snow' settled, the sun slowly drifted back down, turning its time back to early morning or late evening.

Yuffie stared at it, overcome and speechless. Her mouth hung open, but as a tear flew quickly down her cheek she put a hand to her mouth and managed a big smile. Turning, she cradled the snow globe to her chest and ran to the door. Laughing through her tears, falling faster now, Yuffie threw open the door and ran out into the November morning.

_-.-.-.-_

Standing outside his apartment, Vincent paced back and forth, cursing himself. Yuffie and the others probably thought him an idiot. Running out like that, spouting the obvious nonsense about his imaginary phone… he was a jerk. Every time, he ruined everyone's mood and destroyed the strange warmth he felt growing in his chest. He pushed people away, keeping them there as best he could. For once, he'd tried to accept and let people in… but again, he'd run away. That was all he could do, just like when he locked himself in that coffin to escape his tormented memories.

Vincent slammed his metal claw into a wall, cursing angrily and leaving a dent. He couldn't go back… he would wait until Yuffie left the next day, and then be extremely cautious about what he said and did.

"Vincent! Vincent, where are you?" Vincent whirled around, red eyes scanning the streets to see who had called his name. It was strange that someone was looking for him, since in moods like this he was normally alone, but when no one appeared he looked back at his door. Maybe he would just stay in his house… hide inside like he always did. He clenched his jaw and fist, eyes closed. Yes… he would disappear again.

He took a few steps toward the doorway when pounding footsteps alerted his attention. For the second time he turned, frowning, but this time he only had a split second before the wind was knocked out of him. Stumbling backwards a step, Vincent looked incredulously at the thing stuck to him like a leech. Seeing black hair, a far distance off, Vincent relaxed slightly but stood still. Then it hit him.

Yuffie had smacked him with a flying tackle, somehow winding her arms around his torso and pushing her head against his chest in a hug. Looking down at her, he saw the front of his black outfit begin to grow even darker as it grew damp… damp. The thief was crying.

"Thank you, thank you," Yuffie repeated, tightening her grip. "It's so b-beautiful…" At first, Vincent hadn't the foggiest what she could be talking about, but then he remembered. Looking behind him, he saw the snow globe still clenched in one of her hands. "It means so much to me!"

"…Why?" he asked, still staring at the top of her head. Yuffie choked out a laugh, bringing up a hand to wipe at the tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks. Looking up, Yuffie took a deep breath and gave Vincent her brightest, sweetest smile. She'd take a chance.

"…Because it's from you."

Vincent was taken aback, shocked beyond words as Yuffie went back to hugging him tightly. When the full effect of her words had taken place, the corners of his mouth turned upward by a fraction of an inch. At first his arms felt like lead, and not just the metal claw. However, he managed to put them into the air before they froze again, not used to this strange gesture. Pushing them over the edge, he put them around her back in an unheard of thing.

Vincent was hugging her back.

If anything, her tears increased in ferocity and amount. Standing alone in the street, partaking in one of the most common actions of comradery or friendship that one could see, Vincent wasn't quite able to convince himself that the hug was just friendly. However, he was content to put away the unnamed and alien feelings beginning to sprout and grow within his heart and just feel. Speaking of feel…

A flash of cold kissed his cheek, making him look up in surprise. The sun had disappeared behind a cloud, many of them, in fact, and during their time inside the sky had become overcast. Snow, pure and white like he had never seen, was drifting down in gentle cascading waves. They continued to alight on his face and body, along with Yuffie's, dusting them with the powder. Taking comfort in the simplicity of the moment, Vincent softly stroked Yuffie's short hair - so gentle that she made no sign of feeling it. Chuckling to himself, Vincent looked back up at the sky and closed his eyes. Perhaps the holidays... weren't so bad after all.

…**For some reason I'm not that fond of this ending. I like the rest of it, but the ending seems… blah. Oh, well, I suppose I can't do much for it now. The overall cute/awkward stuff in this was enough for me. I tried to make it funny, too, but we'll see how that works out. Thanks in advance for any reviews or whatever!**

… **-hates Shelke-**

**Grieverwings**


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